Session 27: Lament of the Dragon
by Zoheret and Dove
Summary: You know that story? The one with the cat? Well, that wasn't the end of his sad tale. One more tear, one more death, one more life, one more owner. S!F The Dragon awakens...UPDATED! Ch. 9 Spinning Away
1. Prologue: Jamming with Death

A/N~ I just watched finished watching CB last night and while I was sitting at my  
  
computer, supposedly doing my homework, a sudden thought came to me, and this was  
  
born...Sorry if it sucks...Sorry if it's out of character. Takes place after The Real Folk  
  
Blues Part II...  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own the Bebop, don't own the Cowboys...Put two and two  
  
together...Don't own Cowboy Bebop...Don't own the song 'Going Under' by  
  
Evanescence...Really cool song ya?  
  
~Dove (Zoheret cannot read this, write about this, or know of this until she has actually  
  
seen CB...So don't tell her about this, kay?)~  
  
Session 27: Lament of the Dragon  
  
/// Okay. 3, 2, 1, let's jam!///  
  
Breathe...Why was it so hard to breathe? The darkness seemed to be pulling at her, pulling her under, and along the edges a young girl was still running, running home. There was no home, there was no life, nothing...And he was gone...  
  
  
  
/...Now I will tell you what I've done for you  
  
50 thousand tears I've cried  
  
Screaming deceiving and bleeding for you  
  
And still you won't hear me.../  
  
  
  
She wonders if she ever even meant anything to him. Wonders if he even thought of her before he died, and yet a part of her is hoping, clinging to the thought, that he still is alive with his hands in his pockets and his fluffy hair.  
  
Behind her she hears Jet making noise, grumbling as he pacing in front of the  
  
couch, stopping to glare once in awhile at the television and the reporters flashing across  
  
it.  
  
There's a beep, a sign someone's called in, and she hears Jet mumble, "Hey, Bob."  
  
Silence. She pushes herself to her feet and enters the room, using the wall to keep her upright, and ignoring the couch in the corner of her eye.  
  
  
  
/...Don't want your hand this time I'll save myself  
  
Maybe I'll wake up for once.../  
  
"...It's a massacre over there," the old man on the screen was saying, his voice distant to her ears, "The guy just blew through them all like a hurricane, dead bodies everywhere. The Red Dragon has taken a fatal blow with this one."  
  
Jet doesn't notice her and continues staring into nothing. "Is he dead?"  
  
The old man sighs and looks away, "...I'm sorry, Jet."  
  
Silence. A slightly shaking voice, "Is there proof?"  
  
A nod followed by a beep. "I'm sending you pictures taken at the scene. Again, I'm sorry, Jet."  
  
She makes her way over to his shoulder, to stare at the screen as he opens the file. Pictures of morbidity assault her, blood and gore everywhere mixed with signs of bombs and explosions. He scrolls through them, till he reaches the last three. Spike walking down the stairs, arm crossing his stomach as he staggers slowly, staring straight at them, a smirk on his lips. Another with an arm in the air the shape of a gun. His mouth is slightly open, and she figures he said something. The last one, him on the stairs, laying face down, as if he'd been pushed.  
  
  
  
/...Not tormented daily defeated by you  
  
Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom  
  
I'm dying again.../  
  
She covers her mouth with her hand and backs up. He's dead and he isn't coming back. Better get used to it being just you and Jet, no where left to go, nothing left to do. Easy come, easy go. Gonna have to carry the weight alone.  
  
Jet turns slowly and notices her, opens his mouth to say something, probably about how troublesome the guy was, but just snaps it shut and heads to the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in an hour."  
  
He will hide his grief in work.  
  
She turns away and heads back to the hall, stares up at the ceiling where she'd fired her gun. Bang, she thinks, bang, bang, bang! She wonders if maybe she could have saved him if she'd been able to shot him. He would have hated her for that, though.  
  
But he'd already hated her for a lot of things.  
  
  
  
/...I'm going under  
  
Drowning in you  
  
I'm falling forever  
  
I've got to break through  
  
I'm going under.../  
  
  
  
She wonders if she should disappear, fly away, find somewhere else to be, and maybe be someone else. She remembers Ed and wonders if the girls okay, realizes how quiet it is.  
  
Grief surrounds her, pain of the now mixed with the agony of remembrance. The walls become fuzzy and strange. She blinks.   
  
Right now she would kill for one of those mushrooms.  
  
  
  
/...Blurring and stirring the truth and the lies  
  
So I don't know what's real and what's not  
  
Always confusing the thoughts in my head  
  
So I can't trust myself anymore  
  
I'm dying again.../   
  
*  
  
"This is the Stairway to Heaven."  
  
Obnoxious frog. Get the hell out of my way.  
  
"Sorry, Spiegel, you're still alive."  
  
Aw, shit.  
  
"There's a price for this you know."  
  
  
  
Price? I don't have any money so you're outta luck.  
  
"This price is for never dying, Spiegel, the price of immortality."  
  
  
  
Huh?   
  
  
  
"You were a cat, you had a million lives and you spent them, you cried a million tears and lived on in a dream. So near death, but you can't climb the Stairway, now can you?"  
  
  
  
I'll show you, you stupid animal.  
  
"..."  
  
  
  
...Alright, so I can't....  
  
  
  
"Because Spike, you can't die, but you can't live either."  
  
  
  
I hate you, you know that?  
  
"You were a cat. Now be a dragon."   
  
*  
  
Ryen stares across at the other three, fully aware of the elevated hope in the room. He glances down at his hands, palms flat on the desk, and wonders how many deaths they've caused.   
  
"You're saying he'll live?" Dreg demands heatedly, standing up and shoving his chair aside.  
  
The make shift meeting room was three feet below the ground, in an abandoned ISSP interrogation faculty.  
  
Ryen meets his glare and shrugs. "I've got just as much medical training as you, how the hell should I know?! All I'm saying is that I think he has a pretty good chance."  
  
Vere sighs and leans back in his chair, "I still think we should call in a few  
  
doctors."  
  
"And call attention to our hideout? I think not!" Ryen snaps, combing through his short black hair with one hand.  
  
All three of the syndicate members wore black with two handguns strapped to their sides as if they expected attackers at any moment. Vere was the oldest of the trio, but had the list power in their small triangle, his hair was a salt and pepper color, the fading of brown tinting the edges. Dreg was around thirty or so with no hair what so ever, and repeatedly would state that he shaved it off, while people rolled their eyes in doubt.  
  
They had been appointed by the older members of the Red Dragon to take care of Spike, code name 'Chaos'. Messages were being sent to all members, altering them that the heir of Mao had returned and was healing, that he had killed of Vicious to save them from certain destruction, that all would be right.  
  
"There is another thing." Ryen mutters and rubs his temples with the tips of his fingers. "I highly doubt that his memory will be intact."  
  
The three stare at each other. "What do you mean?" Dreg demands and returns to his chair, staring straight ahead as if the Elders were in the room with him.  
  
"He was very close to death when we pulled him out of there, so close in fact that he was in a sort of coma. With the medical supplies we stole we should be able to get him out of here within the month, I just wish I was a true doctor."  
  
Vere snorts, "With all the training you've had I'm surprised you aren't. And you always say Dreg is as much of a doctor as you are, but the truth is, he isn't. We all know that. Chaos's life is in your hands."  
  
"I'm just saying that if he does wake up, he probably won't remember who he is. He might remember the syndicate and other normal day to day things, but the scans show brain trauma, and..."  
  
"So Spike ceases to exist and Chaos is born..." Vere mumbles in reply. "Works well for the syndicate."  
  
"And what if his memory is intact?" Dreg adds slowly, "Is it worth it to delete it?"  
  
/// Wake up Space Cowboy ///  
  
A/N~ Well....I don't know what to say...I don't really know where this came  
  
from...Hopefully it doesn't suck too bad...Even if you hate it, would you still review  
  
please? Feed back is nice...I'm sure this prolly sounds like all the other fan fics out there (I haven't read them, but I'm just supposing. But I have a nice plot twist so there...Just  
  
review) Oh, and one more thing, this will be a Spike/Faye 'cause I think they look cute  
  
together. ^_^ P.S. Am trying to figure out how to get italics, so if it's all screwed up I apologize... 


	2. Chapter One: Picture Blues

A/N~ I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I was waiting for Zoheret to watch CB so she could help me with it (But she never did, grrrr). Hopefully someone out there still cares enough to at least give this thing a review...That's all I'm asking for, kay? I'm not too demanding...

  


~Dove~

  


Chapter One: Picture Blues

  


***Three Months Later***

  
  


_/// Okay. 3, 2, 1, let__'s jam!/// _

  


"Ed!" Jet grumbles as he sticks his head out of the kitchen, "Turn the damn music down!"

"But Edward is having fun! Hear the happy noise bouncing off the wall! Bouncy, pouncy, louncy, founcy, see? Huh, Ein?"

"Arf!"

Jet lets out a long sigh and mumbles something incohorent as he returns to frying potatoes, the only food on the ship. "Figures one day it'd be potatoes. Went through eggs, mushrooms..." His words fade away as he stares at the frying pan for a moment.

Behind him Faye enters the kitchen silently, a trail of smoke rising around her as she puffs once and opens her mouth, "Potatoes again? You'd think we'd have something different after turning in the Dagre guy!"

"Yeah, we would. If you hadn't spent it all at the races."

Faye doesn't respond, just smiles evily and leaves the kitchen, a drink of some sort clutched in her fist. She throws herself onto the couch, trying to not think about the fluffy haired man who used to do the same. 

"Faye-Faye!"

She ignores the persistent voice yelling over the blaring music that seems to be forever coming from Ed's computer.

"Faye-Faye!"

She gives in with a sigh, "What is it Ed?"

"Edward's found a bountttttttttty!"

"Good for you Ed," she replies without any enthusiasium and continually stares at the random drink in her hand, wondering what the hell it is.

"It's a bigggggg bounty, huh, Ein?"

"Woof!"

"Fine," she replies and pushes herself off the couch with a groan. "Just turn off the music, kay?"

"Awwwwwww! Edward's tunes go bye-bye."

"So what's the guy's name?" Faye forces herself to ask, too tired to really care. The latest bounty had taken a lot out of her, leading her on an endless chase through a town on Mars before committing suicide by jumping off a bridge. 

"Vere Masheta! Oh, la, la! Here lies a dragonnnnnn!"

Staring blankly at the screen, eyes taking in the salt and peper hair and brown lifeless eyes, Faye shakes her head slowly, "I don't think so Ed."

"Five million woulongs!" (Don't know how to spell. I figure that's a good sum, but I don't know how to calculate it...Someone help?)

So what if he'd been in the Red Dragons. He was gone now, never coming back. There was no point in just ignoring good bounties because they came from the same place he had. 

_///...When this began_

_ I had nothing to say_

_ And I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me...///_

  


Dropping the last of Spike's cigarette stash on the ground, she stomped it out, "Alright. I'll take him. Where is he, Ed?"

There was a beep as Edward threw herself into a handstand and punched the computer buttons with her toes. "Finding, finding, searching, searching...Where be the Vere-berry. Where, there, no, no, hereeeeee! Woohoo!!!"

Faye, "You seriously need to lay off the sugar."

"Silly, Faye-Faye." Edward reprimands, "Vere the berry is on Earth, hiding, biding, in an old museum."

"Oh, really. What he do anyway, except be a Red Dragon member?"

"Wellllll...He was involved in some Chaos thingymager. The other syndicates are putting bounties on anyone they know took part in it, but Edward found only Vere with a bountyyyyy..."

"Thanks, kid. Tell Jet to head for Earth, I'm going to sleep."

_///...I was confused_

_ And I let it all out to find _

_ That I'm_

_ Not the only person with these things in mind...///_

  


Faye turns down the hall, ignoring the door to Spike's room as she passes it. No ones entered it since he left, no one's even attempted to open it. Like a fogotten temple, a monument to the fallen. 

Her steps faulter and she considers. "It's not like he's here to get mad. He won't even know." Nodding to herself she backs up, and opens the door with one hand, a feeling she can't place in the pit of her stomach.

_///...Inside of me_

_ But all the vacancy the words revealed_

_ Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel_

_ Nothing to lose_

_ Just stuck/hollow and alone_

_ And the fault is my own_

_ And the fault is my own...///_

  


A chaotic mess meets her eyes and she has to wad her way through inches of clothing just to make it to the bed. She stares down at the rumpled sheets covered with a slight layer of dust, and has to force herself not to fall into it and envelop the blanket in her arms. 

Her foot nudges something beneath the bed, and she bends reaching an arm out slowly, scared of what could be under there, and grasps something cool with her fingers.

A small metal box the size of her hand stares up at her and she traces the gaping keyhole with the tips of her fingers. 

"What's this? Spike actually owned something beside clothes, smokes, and guns?"

Realizing she needs a key she carefully places the box on the bed and wades through the clothing to a small dresser that normal people would stuff with clothes. Pulling open the top drawer, she frowns as the bottom wood panel stares up at her. "Figures," she mutters.

The second drawer is the same, which causes her to frown slightly and wonder if there's any point to searching the last one. But she opens it anyway.

A pack of cigarettes covered in dust and a single key the size of her pinky are the only articles that she finds.

  


_///...I want to heal_

_ I want to feel_

_ What I thought was never real_

_ I want to let go of the pain I've held so long_

_ (Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)_

_ [It's gone]_

_ I want to heal_

_ I want to feel_

_Like I'm close to something real...///_

  


She grabs the key, not feeling anything as she opens the box. After all she's cheated people of their money thousands of times. She's ruthless. The guy is dead, why should she feel bad for opening something he left behind. It's not like he's going to walk through the door and yell at her...

...And yet, something in her chest seems to hurt...

There's only one thing in the box. Something that makes her cringe and stifle a sob at the same time.

  


_///...I want to find something I've wanted all along_

_ Somewhere I belong...///_

A slightly faded black and white picture of three people in black standing on some sort of bridge. Two of them seem to be talking, unaware of someone taking a picture. Spike and Vicious, looking no more than thirteen years old. It hurts to think the lunkhead was ever that young.

What surprises her is that the third one isn't Julia. She supposes they must not have met her yet. An old man stands on the fringes of the picture. Someone she's seen before.

Mao.

  


_///...I want to heal_

_ I want to feel_

_ What I thought was never real...///_

  


*

Yawning, Chaos stretches his arms, popping joints and ignoring the few people around him as he stands up. The clothes don't feel right, they never feel right, but he wears them anyway. Maybe, he thinks, black isn't my color.

The few people sitting around the table stare at him drearily, before casting a glance at the clock on the wall, the big hand just reaching the 12.

"Midnight," groans Ryen, "couldn't pick a better time could you?"

Chaos smirks cheerfully back, "Gotta keep you on your toes."

The other people stare stoicly forward, refusing to take part in the idle banter. 

Shrugging, Chaos jumps onto the rectangle shaped table with one bounding leap, and precedes to stride across it, narrowly missing stomping on a few gloved hands.

"You want to know something?" Chaos demands, going from playful to dangerous in seconds, and casting glares at the people staring up at him.

No one offers a reply, so he continues, "I think you let him go."

Stephen, a man in his mid-twenties shakes his head rapidly, and as a representative from the Third Pinion Assault Group, is forced to speak, "W-w-we had no idea Vere had left, truly. You can look over the reports, Lord. W-we..."

Chaos shakes his head and flops down onto the middle of the table, sitting Indian-style in front of the man. "You know what, I don't really care that the bastard got away, 'cause he's gonna die soon anyway," he smirks, "but I want to know _why _he left. That's what gets me."

Stephen stares open mouthed up at the Red Dragon leader, obviously in awe of the man, and doesn't seem to be able to form a reply.

"Aw, this is stupid," Chaos declares and catapults off the desk, landing near his chair. "If any of you _were _helping him, and you know who you are, you might want to reconsider your loyalties. And don't worry about Vere, he's getting what's coming to him."

With that, Lord Chaos turns on his heel and leaves the room of representatives to their thoughts, Reyn running to catch up to him.

"So which one of them helped Vere?" He asks curiously, forced to crane his neck slightly, because, well, Chaos is just so damn tall.

The Red Dragon leader gifts him with a smirk before replying, "None of them."

"...So who helped Vere get away?"

"I did." Chaos replies sharply and flings open the doors to his office, taking the time to kick a box resting in the center of the room, into the corner.

"I don't understand you."

"Either do I." Chaos mutters darkly and flings himself onto the couch on the side of the room. 

Reyn considers if it's smart to delve further. "So, you help him get away, and then scare the reps into thinking your mad at them, and know which one of them betrayed you, when none of them really did, and they're all extremely and scarily loyal?"

"Yup."

"..."

"You see, Reyn, they're less likely to even think of betraying me if they think I know everything."

"But what about Vere?" Reyn questions, not really caring about the man, but curious as to whether Chaos even kows.

"That annoyance will be dealt with. He was always trying to tell me what to do."

_///...Easy go, Easy come...Or visa versa...///_

  
  


A/N~ So the ending of this chapter was kinda weak, but I really don't know how a syndicate works, it's not like I'm in one...*cough* Anyway, please review, kay? 

  


Responses (Cause if you be nice, I'll be nice) :

  


Sessy Da Fluffy one: I'm really grateful you liked it so much, thank you. I hope somehow you find this chapter and like it just as much...Although I dunno...

  


Amuro: Awwww thank you...I was hoping someone would notice...I'm just reallllly like the mushroom episode...heh

  


Koyasha1: Well, hopefully my fic will get a little more original as it progresses...Thanks for the wonderful review!

  


Please Review People, 'cause it's the thing to do! Yup! ^_^


	3. Chapter Two: Knockin' on Your Tombstone

A/N~ Well...Heh! I got the OST No Disc thingy...Yeah, it's the 2 soundtrack and I don't have any of the other ones...but it's got Green Bird on it and I'm happy. ^_^ So the song in this chappie is Don't Bother None...Great song that I don' t happen to own at all...Listen to it if you've got it...

  


Disclaimer: Who? Me? No, you got the wrong person...You sure? No? Well, I can tell you one thing...The characters over there, see them? I don't own them...Don't own nuthin. Just an innocent bystander. Yup, that's me...Zip de de...

  


_///...Okay, 3, 2, 1, Lets Jam!...///_

  
  


Chapter Two: Knockin' on Your Tombstone

  


She was pretty sure there had been a plan involved, but like most plans, it'd gone out the window after the first gun shot had been fired. Or maybe before that, she wasn't really sure, and as she sat there on the dirt dusted floor among the shards of glass, she really didn't care.

You see, it'd gone like this.

Ed had found a bounty, an easy bounty, with lots of cash on its head, and a nice lead; the man was hiding out in a museum on earth. Then Jet had gotten all "let's go after it" and she'd agreed because...Well, she'd just blame it on momentary insanity...Anyway, she'd agreed, and of course, she'd been given all the hard work that had to be done while the others were lounging about at the Bebop probably laughing themselves silly at her current predicament.

Come to think of it, how the hell would they even know what her predicament was? 

Aw, scratch that, she decided, and came to the conclusion that she'd just pretend that they knew. 

So while they were laughing and probably eating every tiny minuscule ounce of food on that piece of junk Jet called a ship, she'd been in this goddamn café dodging bullets for her pitiful life and wondering why the hell someone would turn an old museum into a café. 

Yup, she thought, what a wonderful life.

  


_///...Readin' my paper in Roy's café _

_ The ol' guy next to be is loud as day_

_ Rambled and rambled while eatin' his pie_

_ He dropped his wallet, now its mine uh huh...///_

  


So she'd been sitting there, on one of those red covered bar stools, sipping at a soda 'cause she'd been too broke to order a beer, when this old grey man comes striding in. Figuring it was the bounty head, she'd just smiled and fiddled with her clear straw, watching the ice move around in her drink.

He'd sat down next to her and ordered a pie, out of all things, with whip cream and a cherry on top. She'd stared at it hungrily for a moment before smirking at him and asking what his name was.

His response was, "Verily."

"Verily, eh?"

"That's right missus, but most people call me Vere," and then he'd had the mind to wink at her.

Rolling invisible eyes in her mind, she'd grinned at him and whispered, "Be kind enough to buy a girl a drink?"

And he'd started to nod, even begun to open his mouth...

But he hadn't been able to get much further...

You see, that's when the gun fire had started.

  


_///...Sorry old man but that's jus' the way that is_

_ Don't bother none_

_ Won't help at all to worry 'bout it...///_

  


A bullet had ripped through the air inches from her face, she'd felt her violet hair fling forward and watched a hole form in the bartenders skin, just above his heart. After that, she'd flung herself to the floor, forgetting the old guy, and cursing loudly, afraid he was dead and she'd lost her bounty. 

Groaning, she'd crawled across the floor, gun in hand, and headed to the back of the bar, to hide in the safety of the shadows and stools.

But the guys in black and gray trench coats didn't really seem to care whether or not she hid or went running out, they were all up in the Vere guys face.

And the man had the mind to just sit there and eat his pie, whip cream included.

The leader of the pack, a nineteen year old or so woman with blue hair that went to her chin, stuck a gun under his nose and asked if he wanted to live or not.

He'd replied, "Seems I don't have a choice, Amber, but I'd like to finish this pie."

The five or so odd syndicate members hadn't even glanced at each other, just stood there with a stoic calmness that reminded her of someone she really didn't want to think about right now.

That's when she'd noticed the windows were all blown away, and no one was in the café except her, the old guy, and the syndicate people. Just a lovely, lovely day.

  


_///...Picked up the wallet and slipped out side_

_ Walked around and walked around and walked around town_

_ I found my nerve and a good place to hide_

_ Only to find no cash inside uh-huh...///_

  


Amber,( that was the girls name with the blue hair, right? She thought that's what the old guy had said) had frowned decisively and cocked her gun. "You gotta go, you know that. We all know what you did, but I want to know why, before you fall face first into your bloody whip cream."

"I like whip cream."

Amber just stared at him, the kind of look that reminded Faye of Jet. Either eat the meatless food or starve.

"The Hawk Clan had much more to offer. A higher place. I've even seen the office. Nice and clean."

"Our place is clean."

"Yeah, but you know, I was always a Vicious kind of guy."

Those words condemned him, and the whip cream splattered as his face landed. "Oh yeah?" Amber inquired, "well, you're the last. Here's your wonderful prize."

And then she'd dropped something onto the floor and waltzed out, the other syndicate people following closely behind her.

And that's what had happened, all happy and such...And there was a friggin piece of glass in her foot.

"How'd that happen?" She demanded as she limped over to the 'present' and stared down at it. "Oh just what I wanted," she muttered sarcastically, "a nice shiny bomb."

As if to confirm her words it beeped twice, as the 3 minutes turned to a 2.

"Well, what do you have for me?" She asked the dead guy and reached into his coat pocket, "Ahhh, a wallet? And...what's this? A disc of some sort? Music, maybe?" Shrugging, she stuffed it into her shorts and sauntered out the door as the bomb read 1:30.

  


_ ///...Oh well I guess that's just the way that it is_

_ Don't bother none_

_ Won't help at all to worry about it...///_

But the day just got better when she got 'home'.

"What do you mean you lost the bounty?"

Flopping down on the couch and dramatically placing a pale hand on her forehead, Faye choose to reply, "That's what I said, wasn't it? Died in his whip cream."

"Nothing good comes from Earth."

"Nothing good comes from anywhere," she countered with a grumble before asking, "Where's Ed?"

A scratching noise and then, "Ed's right hereeeeeee, Faye-Faye!!!"

"And I didn't even get a drink..." Faye moaned in sudden realization.

"Yeah, and I didn't get anything to pay the bills or fuel the Bebop," Jet mumbled darkly in reply before waltzing off, probably to butcher his bonsai trees, or whatever they were called.

"Didja bring something back for Ed?"

Sighing, Faye muttered, "No, Ed..." But at the sad look on the girls face that echoed the one in her soul, she found her hand in her pocket. "Well, maybe..."

"Maybe something supeerrr speciallll and neattt for Edward?"

"Yeah..." Let's see what you've got old man. "Hmmm...Some cash cards, those are mine, and...what's this? You can have it..."

"AHHHHH!!!! A thingymagigerybober," Ed crowed before hopping up and down and holding it aloft as if it were a godsend.

"...Yeah..."

Silence.

"Faye-Faye?"

"Yup?"

"...What is this something suppeer specialll and neattt for Edward?"

"...It's a card..."

"Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"Well, Ed, umm...That's the special thing about it, you have to figure out what it is exactly...so, ah, have fun with that. Yeah."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" And then she was bouncing off with Ein running at her heels.

Faye put her head in her hands. The buisness shaped card had had three numbers on it, and she hoped, really hoped, almost prayed, it didn't come back to haunt her.

But as for these cash cards...

"I'm going out Jet!"

__

_ ///...Oh well I guess that's jus' the way that it is_

_ Don't bother none_

_ Won't help at all to worry 'bout it...///_

  


And the day just got better.

Turned out there wasn't any cash on the dead guys cards. The casino guy had just shook his head at her and pointed to the door. She'd sulked out and turned to roaming the streets.

Only to find herself at the church.

She wasn't exactly sure why her feet had brought her here. She supposed that underneath it all she did have some feelings for the dead fluff of hair, but he was gone and she'd learned not to linger...

Hadn't she?

All the same her feet were climbing those stairs, looking down the rows of pews, the same place she'd almost died. But he'd saved her...

And she thought...well, she didn't really know what to think...so she just continued walking till she found herself out back, in the graveyard.

"Kinda desolate," she found herself saying as she stared at the dozen or so tombstones closest to her. Over there, by that tree, that was where his tombstone rested, the man with two-different eyes. The man who'd been more cat than human.

She found herself standing over it. "You were always a lunkhead, till the day you died." But then she thought, she wouldn't want someone to say that to her tombstone if she were dead, so she decided to try again, "I suppose, I miss ya, Spike." It was hard to say his name.

"I mean, you weren't really...well, I didn't know anything about you, and I still don't, but maybe that was part of your...charm..." She paused, what was she doing? "But I did learn something, one little thing, at the end. You were a hopeless romantic, and you'd die for anyone you truly cared about, and you did, didn't you? And I'm left here wondering, if it was truly worth it, if she was worth it?"  
"I mean...She was pretty and all that, and deadly. But...I don't know...Which one of you did she truly love...If you were here right now you'd be glaring and cussing me into the ground, but you can't, so I'm one up on you, lunkhead."

"You said you left to find out if you were truly alive, but are any of us alive? Maybe...it has to do with happiness...If you were alive right now..." she trailed off.

A breeze blew the leaves across the graveyard, billowing her hair foreward and into her face. 

Somewhere behind her was the patter of feet and a voice that asked, "Who the hell are you?" 

Yes, just a wonderful, wonderful day.

  


_///...Cowgirl, it ain't that bad...///_

  


A/N~ I think this one's a little shorter than the other's but at least it's updated sooner, correct? I'll try to be good. And the person who said the "Who the hell are you?" well, it probably isn't who you think it is, and it isn't the other one either. *hums* Heck, right now my muse is looking at me oddly, silently asking if even I know who it is. But I'm not telling...So be quite Mr. Muse...

  


Responses:

  


Koyasha1:Booyaka! I hope you aren't disappointed with this chapter, though. I wrote it a little differently...

  


Saladin-Stories: *Grins happily* Thank you! 

  


Ophelia-cat: Wow! That was a really, really, really, really, nice review! Thanks!

  


Liz012014:Well, here's another chapter, hope you liked it.

  


Sanima: Don't we all? Spike is just so awesome. And I know he probably did die...but you know what? I don't care. He's still alive. Really. He is. He lives in my house. Anyway, I only saw one star go out in the end, and that could have been Vicious's star. Unless I missed something in the anime..Wow, I started ranting on your response for some reason. Must be lack of sleep.

  


Review. Because it's good for you. Like ice-cream. It just is. Yum . 


	4. Chapter Three: Hard Luck Man

A/N~ It was really hard to pick a song for this chapter for some reason. I found myself going through my cds and saying, "I just really don't know." It doesn't help that I don't have the words for 2/3 of them. So I finally just picked one, but I'll probably change it halfway through...Grrr...I'm going to go insane! Gahhhhhhhhh! Either Enya's Wild Child or FFX's Otherworld...hmmm Enya is too happy...Don't own FFX's Otherworld...

  


Disclaimer: Once upon a time in a far, far away land there was a girl. Okay, so the land wasn't that far away...and the time wasn't that long ago. Actually it was a couple of minutes ago. What was the point of this? Ah, yes. The girl liked something, so she wrote about it. But she doesn't own it, or pretend to own it, or try to own it. And the moral of this story is: Dove doesn't own Cowboy Bebop. The End. Such a lovely story. Want me to tell it again?

  


~Dove~

  


Chapter Three: Hard Luck Man

  


"Who the hell are you?"

She turns slowly, drawing it out, a slight smile on her lips as she reaches for her gun, "You know? I could ask you the same thing."

They stare down the barrels of each others guns in consideration, neither moving.

"Hmph," replies the cloaked stranger, his clothes oddly reminiscent of an old movie Faye remembered seeing so long ago, about wizards or something.

"Well...I've really got to be going," she states and starts to slowly back away, gun still raised.

"I think you might want to reconsider that."

"And why exactly is that?"

"Because you've met me before...I remember now..." The gun slowly lowers disappearing into the folds of black cloth.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I was one of the syndicate guys in the opera house."

She starts, "I thought you all died..."

"I wasn't in the Church."

"Well, that explains everything. Nice to meet ya, bye-bye now..." She turns to leave, wishing desperatly for a smoke and at the same time wondering how long it's been since she's had one.

"Don't come here again," he warns from beneath his hood, and turns his head away, "the Red Dragon syndicate is all over this place, I've been appointed to be one of the guards..."

"Why exactly are you being so friendly?" Faye demands exasperated.

"Because I no longer have to kill you. Want to go out sometime?"

She blinks, taken aback by the sudden outburst and shakes her head rapidly.

"Hmph. It was worth a try, though." With that he turns and walks away.

Blinking still, Faye turns on her heel and flees, confused as to why she'd just been asked out by a syndicate member, why the said syndicate member was guarding a tombstone, and why the hell the syndicate even cared.

And why hadn't he tried to kill her? That still didn't make sense. That's what the syndicate did. They killed people. They didn't just let people go waltzing off the blab stuff to the universe.

Digging through her pockets she found a stray cigarette and lit it hurriedly with Spike's old lighter. "Well, whatever," she tells it through the smoke as she climbs into her ship and starts to fly back to the Bebop. "You'd think the Red Dragon would have disbanded after Vicious's death..." Shaking her head, she stares at her hands on the staring wheel, feeling as though something's missing.

"Maybe I should paint my nails red?" She considers.

  


*

  


"The hell?!" Reyn declares, "You shouldn't be doing this!"

Chaos doesn't respond, just stares at him through the bandages wrapped around his head.

"What were you thinking?!? If you died the whole syndicate would have collapsed! You don't have an heir and..."

"Geez, whatever happens, happens," he pauses, "I feel like I've said that before..." The moment passes and he smirks at Reyn, "And I only got two bullets this time."

Reyn slaps a hand against his forehead, "Yeah, and last time, it was five! You have the most luck I've even seen!"

_Immortals cannot be touched by death..._

  


Chaos shakes his head, a strange voice tugging at his thoughts and then fading into nothing. "How'd the Vere thing go?"

Reyn rolls his eyes, "He was successfully killed, and the café was successfully blown up, although I don't know why you wanted to do that..."

"I like to blow up things. It's fun."

"Yeah, and you also think trying to kill yourself is fun."

  


_The price is paid, there is no debt. You can not die._

  


Was he hearing things? Chaos frowns and then laughs at the look on Reyns face, "Well, yeah. Wouldn't waste my time trying, if it wasn't."

_///...Go now if you want it_

_ An otherworld awaits you_

_ Don't you give up on it_

_ You bite the hand that feeds you...///_

  


"Hmm...Time for sleep, see you later," and with that, Chaos disappears down the hall, long legs carrying him away.

Reyn frowns slightly and turns to the syndicate guard at the door. "Is Ryki here? His shift should be over."

"I believe so, sir."

"Send him in then," Reyn commands and waits. He really doesn't like working behind Chaos's back, but he only does so to protect him.

A young man decked out in a cloak stalks into the room, bowing his head slightly in Reyn's direction.

"How was your shift?" Reyn demands, staring stoicly at the young man.

"A young woman stopped by the grave. I scared her away."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, sir. Although you might want to take it into account that it was Faye."

Reyn starts, "Are you sure."

"Yeah...I'm pretty sure."

"She doesn't suspect?"

"...That the grave is empty? No, I really do believe she thought there was something in there..."

  


*

  


_///...All alone cold fields you wonder_

_ Memories of it cloud your sight_

_ Fills you dreams, disturbs your slumber_

_ Lost your way a fallen knight...///_

  


_A rose. It falls in a puddled. It looks like water, but feels like blood. Scarlet and crimson drip down his face, into his mouth. He smirks at the taste and licks his lips. _

_ It tastes like metal and he revels in it._

_ Somewhere in the distant is the sound of death, but he's used to it by now. The smell of smoke feels the air, and something explodes across from him. He goes darting into the shadows, dripping blood._

_ A rose. It falls into a puddle._

_ A smile._

_ The color of the sun._

_ Someone smirking._

_ An eye._

_ Something about that eye._

_ Flashes of death. He's died before. The stairs...they...they..._

_ A rose..._

  


He wakes up, breathing hard, brushing a hand through his hair to the best of his ability and throwing the blankets off his slim form. He wonders if it's a memory, but he cannot recall anything and just stares at his hands. In the dream, there had been blood on these hands.

  


///...Hold now aim is steady

Anotherworld awaits you

One thousand years-you ready? 

The otherworld it takes you...///

If the dream was a memory, than he'd lived something else before...and yet...it was much the same, wasn't it? Death and blood and explosions...

  


///...Go, go into the sand and the dust and the sky 

Go now no better plan than to do or to die

Free me pray to the faith in the face of the light

Feed me fill me with sin now get ready to fight...///

He hums a tune to himself as he stands up and pushes the nightmare away. 

  


*

  


"Faye-Faye!"

"Yeah, Ed?"

"Ed has found what the numbers mean!"

"And what do they mean?"

"They lead to a house, a mouse, and cheese!"

"...Where?"

"A house on red, a house on Mars, a house with a bed, a house with stars!"

_///...You know you will_

_ You know you will_

_ You know you know you know you know that you will_

_ You know you know you know you know that you will_

_ You know you will...///_

"No more Mars, Ed, I'm through with it."

"But...Aren't you curious?"

"Maybe..." She was bored.

_///...Fight fight fight_

_ Fight fight fight_

_ Fight fight fight_

_ Fight fight fight...///_

  


"What's the address?" She might as well ask, what would it hurt?

"Heh! 47214 Saltine Avenue in the Eighth District!"

"Is it just a normal house?" For some reason, deep down inside, Faye felt that it shouldn't be, that this house, should be special somehow.

"A great, big, white house with lotsa treeeeeeeees!"

_Yeah,_ she thought distractedly, _but who lives there? Why would some old guy have this address in his wallet? And do we really want to go find out? _

  


_///...Hope dies and you wonder_

_ The otherworld it makes you_

_ Dreams rip asunder_

_ The otherworld it hates you_

_ Free now ride up on it_

_ Up to the heights it takes you_

_ Go now if you want it_

_ An otherworld awaits you...///_

  


_///...Curiosity, Cowgirl?...///_

  


A/N~ Need sleep....Z_Z Oi, I almost forgot. Is there anything that anyone knows about Spike's childhood/past that wasn't stated clearly in the anime? Like something in the anime guides (Don't own them...) Because I need to delve into his past quite a bit and even if someone does know something, my fic will probably turn out AU, but it would be nice to know...

  


Responses:

  


Dragon-Blade101: Heh. Your review made me really happy, you know that?

  


Cowgirl13: I know! And I made Zoheret borrow CB this weekend and she's supposed to be watching it, but I dunno...I was going to have the "who the hell are you" person be someone else, but I couldn't watch CB and see how badly they got shot. 'Cause if they got shot in a vital place there's no chance they survived...*sigh* Not making any sense am I?

  


Ophelia-cat: Work day, eh? Glad I could help. 

  


Hecate: Well, here's another one, ya? The Cd has Cats on Mars, Green Bird, Don't bother none, Kung Food Remix, ummm and a lot more, but I can't remember 'em all right now...

  


ShinyFairyLights: Boycott, eh? Were you going to have signs? Signs are coooool...Heh, I hope this update was quick enough for you...

  


Blue: Thank you! Although I haven't read other CB fics (I'm waiting till I'm done with mine) I agree with your ideas. And I also hate Julia. *whistles innocently* No offense to anyone who's a fan, but she was hella mean to Spike and then she's like 'let's get back together'. Blah.

  


^_^ I updated early 'cause you guys are just so awesome and leave me good reviews, although this isn't my favorite chapter...I'm kinda disappointed in it...*sigh*

  
  


Review because Otherworld is just an awesome song!!!!

  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter Four: Sympathy for the Lost

A/N~ Hmmmm...

  


Disclaimer: You know what? If I owned Cowboy Bebop I'd be making another series of it and not writing about it. So, obvious, kind obvious, eh? That I don't own it...Don't own, or pretend to own, Jason Mraz's Too much Food...Isn't Mraz just awesome? It doesn't really go with the chapter, but you know what? I don't know either....

  


Chapter Four: Sympathy for the Lost

  


_///...Okay, 3, 2, 1, Let's Jam!...///_

  


"So, you're going to this house, when you could be out getting a bounty?" Jet inquired disapprovingly. "You do remember what a bounty means, don't you? Because it seems..."

Faye interrupted him with a sideways glare and a flick of her cigarette, "Don't worry, _grandpa_, we won't be out for long, and anyways, when was the last time you caught a bounty?" With that, she twisted around and made for the docking bay.

He gaped after her, momentarily at a loss for words, "Hey! Wait? What do you mean by us? And I'm not _that _old! And...Are you listening?" When he realized that she wasn't, he mumbled a few choice words under his breath and left to go talk to his bonsai trees.

Faye, on the other hand grabbed Ed by the sleeve of her shirt and dragged her over to her ship. "Since I think you're human, I suppose you need air to breathe, so I guess we're just going to have to stuff you in here, huh?"

"Wahhhh!" Was all Ed had time to say, before she was shoved into the corner of the Redtail, and Faye was starting the engine, muttering to herself as she tried to find a good song on the radio.

"So, Ed, you got any information on this house?"

"Welllllllllllllll...Ein says that no one lives there anymore, but Ed thinks that someone's hiding there, biding, siding, riding..."

"Please tell me you've got something besides that?"

_///...You can say I'm one curly fry in the box of the regular_

_Messing with the flavor oh the flavor that you savor_

_saving me for last but you better not eat me at all...///_

  


"Wellll, Faye-Faye, Ed hacked into some systems, but no one seemed to have any info-bimfo on it."

"Not even who lived there?"

"No-no!" Ed sounded downcast, as she wriggled a bit to relieve the pain from sitting in such a cramped position. 

Faye felt slightly guilty for causing her to be sad, it seemed that she'd developed more of a soft spot for the strange child ever since the fluff ball left. She craned her neck to get a good look at Ed and opened her mouth to say something, not an apology, but something close to it.

But Edward was fast asleep.

"Figures," Faye muttered, and returned her gaze to the view of space and the looming planet of Mars that was coming ever closer.

_///...Living in a fast food bag making friends with the ketchup and salt_

_People say that I'm crazy for not moving on to better things_

_Instead I'm sitting around trash talking with the onion rings_

_But it's much too soon to leave this easy life_

_Pass me the spoon. Pass me the analytical knife...///_

  


Running a hand through her purple hair, Faye sighed, and pushed the heavy thoughts that seemed to be forever in the back of her mind, away. 

  


*

"Lord Chaos, you can't mean what I think you mean?"

A sigh and then, "Why would I say something unless I meant it?"

"...Yes, milord."

"Well, then, you can leave." The bald man, shaking slightly as he makes a deep bow, turns and flees, practically running through the door before the Red Dragon guards can fully open it.

At his side, Reyn makes a motion with his hand, "Do you think that was wise?"

"Nope."

"...Sir?"

"Reyn, my friend, you just got to let things happen. As soon as Mr. Golan goes..."

"It's Goraen, sir."

"As soon as _Golan_," Chaos give him an annoyed look, "goes back to his little syndicate and tells them that they either join me or become an enemy, they'll get to thinking."

"Does the Scorpion Syndicate even do that?"

"Heh, I was kind of counting on it." Chaos stands up, popping his joints as he does so, and beckons one of the syndicate guards at the door to come closer, "go tell Triska to bring me the report she's supposed to have written."

"Yes, sir!" The young man replies enthusiastically before jogging off.

Reyn laughs, "I don't know how you do it really."

"What?" Chaos demands as he walks over to his desk and ruffles through the files laying on the hard wood.

"They should be afraid of you, and they are, but it's mostly awe."

"What did you expect?" The Red Dragon leader demands, flashing Reyn a smirk as throws himself on top of the desk, and sits there swinging his legs back and forth as he reads a paper, throwing the others casually to the floor.

"Sir?"

_///...Cause your about to get cut up and get cut down_

_it's all about the wordplay all about the sound in the tone of my voice_

_You gotta let me make my choice alone before my food gets cold_

_Better shut up or get shot down. It's all about the know how all just a matter of taste_

_Stop telling me the way I gotta play. Too much food on my plate...///_

  


"What is it now?" Chaos drawls lazily, sounding exasperated and annoyed.

"I think you're going to need these," Reyn explains as he bends to pick up the fallen papers, which have somehow scattered across the floor.

"Whatever..."

Silence, while Chaos hums to himself and Reyn puts the papers back in a perfect pile and lays them on the desk, "So what happens after Goraen tells his syndicate that if they don't become Red Dragons they risk open war?"

"They consider what they earn become a part of us, and then consider what a war would cost them. They go to their allies, only to find that I've already won them over, and then realize that they're utterly alone. And then they join me."

"...And when did you do that?"

"What?" Chaos asks, still staring at the paper in his hand as if it held the secrets of the universe.

"When did you win over the Ifrit, Swan, and Falcon syndicates?"

Chaos shrugs and drops the paper onto the floor, hoping of his desk as he does so, "Oh, you know, whenever."

"...No, sir, I don't have a clue."

The Red Dragon leader smirks in Reyn's direction, "Well, then. Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

At that moment the doors to his office open, the remaining guard announcing that Trisk has arrived. She enters slowly, wearing the usual outfit of the higher syndicate members, gray pants and a gray jacket, with a gold chain dangling from her shoulders.

"Here you go, sir." Trisk says after Chaos nods in her direction, giving her permission to talk. "The report on the Hawk Syndicate and all its members, weapons, and ships."

Chaos flicks his wrist and Reyn, and he steps forward and takes the bundle of papers from Trisk's hands. 

"Commendable, Trisk," Chaos tells her, and then points at the door, "you may leave now. I appreciate your work."

Her checks dimple as she bows clumsily before striding off. 

  


_///...Believe it or not I super sized my sights on the surprise in the cereal box_

_My stomachs smaller than my eyes_

_So I went to see the doctor and he said "turn your head and cough"_

_I didn't listen to what he said instead I couldn't wait to get off...///_

  


"What exactly are you planning?" Reyn demands.

"Sir. What exactly are you planning, sir." Chaos tells him darkly, before taking the papers from Reyn's hands and heading towards the door. "I think you need to realize, Reyn, that you're not the one pulling the strings here." _You never were._

_///...He said I can have this but I can't have that_

_That I should keep wishing I was living the life of a cat because_

_I ain't the one whose gonna be missing the feast_

_Just like you ain't the one who seems to be calming the beast...///_

  


*

  


A white house in the middle of a thousand white houses, on the street of the rich, looking abandoned and lonely. She thought it would have looked haunted and spooky.

All the same, the house looked like no one had lived in it in a long time.

Did she want to go inside? Why was she feeling this fear in the pit of her stomach? She'd never been here, she was sure of that...so what was it?

She glanced back at the Redtail, where Ed is still fast asleep, and squares her shoulders, reaching in her pocket for her sun-glasses and cigarettes.

Ghosts were real, she knew that, because she was one, if you thought about it. But ghosts didn't scare her, the dead did, and the lies. She hated lies. 

Faye had always sought the truth.

And she'd found it and hated it, because it didn't help anything.

But as she stood there, staring up at the white house, she felt as though she'd stumbled into someone else's truth, and it felt...

  


_///...Well if you are what you eat in my case I'll be sweet so come and get some_

_I'm so over it...///_

  
  


...It felt as if she had stepped into the past. So she took another step forward and opened the gate.

  


///..._Now your about to get cut and get cut down_

_Its all about the know how all just a matter of taste_

_Stop telling me the way I gotta play. Too much food on my plate._

_(Get up and get some)_

_There's too much food on my plate...///_

  
  


_///...See you in the future, Dragon...///_

  


A/N~ Indeed. *giggles and runs away*

  
  


Responses:

  


ShinyFairyLights: Heh...You're just gonna have to wait and see...Bwahaha...

  


Ophelia-cat: Ahh, thanks! I hope this chapter helped make your day better, but I dunno...

  


Hecate: Hehehehehe...He'll get his memory back soon, but not to soon... 

  


Review because Spike is awesome...


	6. Chapter Five: Card Shuffle

A/N~ Lookin' through my cd's...Hmmm...I think I might have found something...And the song for this chapter is...Lifehouse's _Unknown_.

  


Disclaimer: Let's see. To my knowledge, I do not own Cowboy Bebop or am a member of Lifehouse. Therefore, I do not own anything to do with either of them.

  


~Dove~

  


_///...Okay, 3, 2, 1, Let's Jam!...///_

  


Chapter Five: Card Shuffle

  
  


There was dust and it made her cough, but to tell the truth it didn't bug her much. 

_///...This doubt is screaming in my face _

_In this familiar place_

_Sheltered and concealed_

_And if this night won't let me rest_

_Don't let me second guess_

_What I know to be real...///_

  


She wanted a clue as to what this place was, as she stood there with nothing but a flashlight she'd found underneath the seat of her Redtail, but all she saw were walls of white with spider webs, and a single staircase leading upwards. Across from her was two doors, one slightly open, as if it had been kicked in. The darkness behind it seemed threatening and unpleasant.

"Eww," she muttered, wiping a spider web off her shoulder as she made her way to the staircase. And what was beyond these stairs?

_///...Put away all I know for tonight_

_And maybe I just might_

_Learn to let it go_

_Take my security from me_

_And maybe finally I won't_

_Have to know everything...///_

  


A long hall...Left or right? Both looked gloomy and...Shaking her head slightly, Faye lit another cigarette and pulled out her gun. "Left," she said aloud, as if it would protect her from the darkness in the walls, as if it showed her she was real.

There was something about this house...

Chewing on her bottom lip, Faye reached out a pale hand and turned the nob on the first door in sight, gently pushing it open and reaching out against the wall to flip on the lights.

The electricity flickered before springing to life and gracing the room with an artificial glow. 

There was a bed in the corner, and Faye was surprised to find that there were still sheets on it, rumpled and covered in a light layer of dust, as if someone had left it in a hurry and never returned to make it.

There was a deck of cards on a desk in the corner, the pile incomplete, as if someone had touched them with the tip of a finger and sent them fluttering across the desk and unto the floor.

She clicked off her flashlight, suddenly remembering that she held it, and took the time to place it on the dust covered floor.

  


_///...I am falling into grace_

_To the unknown_

_To where you are_

_And faith makes everybody scared_

_it's the unknown, the don't-know_

_That keeps me hanging on to you...///_

  


A shiver went up her spine, a feeling she couldn't place. With quick strides, she walked over to the closet and flung open the doors, only to find a jacket on a hanger, small enough to fit a small boy. There was nothing else but a few moths, and dead insects.

It felt almost wrong to be there, in that room, almost as if...

...It reminded her of being in Spike's room, on the Bebop...

A sudden thought occurred to her that sent her fleeing back to the hallway...

What if it was Spike's room?

What if...

Foolish, to think that. Foolish to think that Spike's parent's had been rich enough to live on this street, in a five-story house, and him with a room three times the size as the one she'd had as a child.

But what if?

No, she told herself, and shoved the thoughts away. Her feet took her back inside the room long enough to retrieve the flashlight, and open a desk drawer, her fingers grasping a card.

She read it in the hallway with the dim glow of her flashlight, not wanting to be in that room a second longer, even if it wasn't his...

The front of the card had a spaceship on it, flying through smiling stars, the words Happy Birthday written on the wings of the ship, and Faye giggled slightly, realizing she held an old-fashioned birthday card on in her hands. She opened it slowly, afraid it would deteriorate in her grasp, noticing how faded it looked.

_Happy Sixth Birthday William!_

_ And remember, _

_ That I love you,_

_ Mom_

  


So it wasn't Spike's room after all. She felt oddly disappointed, but all the same, stuck the card in her pocket and headed down the hallway. Her exploring wasn't finished yet.

  


_///...I got nothing to defend_

_I cannot pretend that everything _

_Makes sense_

_But does it really matter now if_

_I do not know how to figure this thing out...///_

  


A voice sent her flying against the wall, heart beating at an increased rate as she tried to slow her breathing. The shadow of the person flickered across the wall, jumping as the person strode closer.

"Faye-Faye?"

"For the love of cards, Ed, don't do that!"

"Ehhh? Sorrrrrrry! Didja find what you were looking-booking for?"

Faye choose not to answer that, and got back to her feet, "Come on Ed, let's look through a couple more rooms."

"Wheeeeee!"

"Hey! Come back here!"

Following the insane hacker into a random room, Faye had a sudden sense of uneasiness as she stared at the walls. There was something different about this one...

There was a king size bed in the center of the room, and a door in the corner, which Faye supposed lead to the bathroom. Edward was hoping up and down on the dust covered bed, sending tiny particles of dirt flying everywhere.

Coughing, Faye forced out, "Edward!"

Ed giggled and nose dived off the bed, rolling about on the floor.

Faye made her way over to the dresser, stared down at the jewelry boxes that had obviously been owned by a very rich lady, and looked over her shoulder at Ed. "Finders keepers, right?"

"Finding creepers? Bwahaha! Trick or treat!"

"...Yeah..."

Returning her gaze to the boxes, Faye gently went through the jewelry, surprised at the amount of quality gems in the rings and necklaces. "Wow," she whistled as she dumped the whole lot in to her pockets.

Edward's face popped up next to her arm, "Anything for Ed-Ed?"

Well, not really, but..."Yeahhh...You can have this..." It was the ugliest looking piece anyway. But with my luck it'll turn out to be worth a billion woulongs.

Ed smiled insanely at her flower necklace and flung it around her neck before doing cartwheels across the room.

It was then that Faye noticed something out of the corner of her eye, lying on the floor as if it had been thrown there, "What's this?" Bending down she picked it up and rubbed it against her shirt. Lifting it up higher, she shined the flashlight on it.

"A wedding ring?" Looking at the inside of the band she read, "Eternal Love, Katherine and David Spiegel."

Her heart stopped.

"Spiegel!?"

_///...I am against myself again_

_Trying to fit these pieces in_

_Walking on a cloud of dust to get to you...///_

  
  
  


A/N~ Faye's pockets are endless pits. She can put anything and everything in them. Weird, her shorts are so short, and yet...On another note, the next chapter is much, much longer, making up for this chapter's shortness.

  


Responses:

  


ShinyFairyLights: Wow! Thanks muchies for the wonderfully wonderful review! And Spike is alive. He lives in my kitchen. ^_^

  


Kendra Luehr: Hmmm...I'll e-mail you...So hopefully you've read this chapter...I agree that LP songs seem to go well with CB...I'm just saving certain songs for certain future chapters...*hums to self* Thanks for your awesome reviews!

  


Cowgirl13: Oy, thanks...I was afraid I'd start losing the character attitudes and end up with weird characters that nobody recognizes...Sorry if this makes no sense, I'm lacking sleep. 

  


Sanima: I agree with you. Poor Spike. *Hugs Spike* And everyone should review...It makes me happy.

  


LaVada: Ahhh, indeed. I hope very much that my fic is unique.

  


Hecate: Your wish is my command. A chapter has appeared. I hope you like it.

  


Review because this chapter made me sad...


	7. Chapter Six: Waltz for Memory

A/N~ Hello! I'm sorry that it's been so long since I updated...But I've been so stressed lately and have had barely anytime to breathe. So forgive me, please? Hopefully someone out there is still interested in this story...*sigh*

  


Disclaimer: Not own, not own. The song _Where do I hide _belongs to Nickleback

and because I can't sing and am a girl, I doubt I'm one of them, so I obviously 

don't own the song. Oh. And one more thing (which I feel I've said a billion times) I don't own Cowboy Bebop. 

  


~Dove~

  


Chapter Six: Waltz for Memory

  


_///...Okay, 3, 2, 1, Let's Jam!...///_

  


They told him not to go, well, that wasn't the right wording. They asked him desperately not to consider going, but he just smirked at them and went. There was no rule that the leader couldn't get his hands dirty and yet they seemed almost afraid of him going out on the field.

"It's because you always almost die!" Reyn screamed at him, before remembering and hesitantly adding the 'sir'. 

Chaos had grinned, grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair, and made his way to his new ship, the Nightbringer.

And so here he was...

  


_///...Got a criminal record_

_Can't cross state lines_

_First on the bad list_

_And you're last on mine...///_

A dozen members of the Tiger Syndicate were chasing him down Embon street on Mars. He'd had five elite guards with him, and two of them hadalready fallen. Chaos had known their names, he knew every single one of his peoples names, something that Reyn had never noticed.

Holding a gun in each hand, he snarled in the face of Tiger as they used a car as a ramp and jumped over him. Punching the guy in the face, he spun in a circle, and rammed his foot into the nearest enemy, taking the time to notice how Eden, May, and Charlie were doing...

Seemed Charlie had a little slice on his arm, but he'd live.

Grinning demonically, Chaos flung himself at another Tiger, realizing that things had progressed to a sort of stand off, that there would be no more running.

He thought it was pretty funny.

_///..Lookin' for a scapegoat_

_Long past due_

_Walking down the aisle_

_Staring straight at you...///_

  


After trading blows with the younger Tiger member, Chaos grew rather bored of the sloppy technique the young man was using, and pulled out a gun, blowing the look off the guys face.

And how many more are left?

There was still fun to be had...

He lurched forward suddenly, stumbling as if he'd been shot, but there was no wound. Eden hurried worriedly to his side, to find him staring at the ground as if it were a mirror reflecting his true self.

And he felt as if...someone was missing...Someone who'd stand at his back as the guns were fired...Someone...

  


_The price has been paid. You cannot remember._

  


The feeling was gone, smirking at Eden he assured her he was fine, drew a bomb out of his jacket, pulled the pin, and threw it over his shoulder where he knew five or so of the Tigers were hiding.

"So," he demanded, "how much farther til we reach there headquarters?"

Eden looked at him in shock, "You mean," she gasped out, blood spurting from between her teeth, "we're still going to try?"

"...What happened to your...?" He inquired lazily as he straightened his jacket and fluffed his hair, looking this way and that as if to figure out if any of the Tiger agents were still alive and kicking.

"I bit my tongue when the Nightbringer crashed the...third time..."

Chaos shot her a disapproving look, "Third time?"

She shrugged, "The first one was when we rammed into the Tiger's small transport ship, the second, when we rammed it and ourselves into the hospital, and the third, when you decided it'd be so much fun if we landed on top of that syndicate man, sir."

"That last one," he told her as he reloaded his gun, "wasn't a crash."

"If you say so, sir." She looked as though she wanted to laugh.

"Sir?" Charlie inquired, "Are you alright?" He'd limped over to them, looking as though he'd pass out at any time now, his face drawn and white.

"I'm find, but Charlie, my man, you don't seem so good."

"I think, you're right, sir..."

"Aren't I always?" Chaos grumbled and turned to Eden, "Take him back to the Nightbringer and go back to headquarters."

A flash of horror and comprehension filled her eyes as she answered, "Yes, sir. But what about you and May?"

_This is what I live for_. "We're going in."

"Sir, if I may speak my mind..."

"Eden, you're going to anyway, so just get it over with." Chaos responded with a roll of his eyes.

"It's impossible, sir." What surprised him was that she seemedafraid, and she shouldn't. She had no chance of being killed, she was supposed to go back to HQ, not go into the thick of it with him...

"The impossible is what I do." 

  


_///...I still hear him screaming "where do I hide?"_

_And all he asks and I say "hurry inside"...///_

  


He turned to May, the young woman wearing black like him, and carrying a shot-gun, a thin cut on her cheek her only visible wound.

He didn't ask if she was ready, just nodded once and strode over to the nearest car.

"Need help, sir?" 

He chuckled and dangled a set of keys in her face as she sat down in the passenger sit. "Fool left 'em in the plug."

A rumble and the bright red, mustang looking car, fired up. 

  


_///...He said, she said_

_No she didn't_

_Be back before morning_

_And you know she won't...///_

*

"Faye? That you?" His voice broke through her reverie, reminding her why she wanted a drink, reminding her why she'd avoided returning to the Bebop till the next day. 

Ed had thought of it as a grand adventure, making Faye-Faye drag her to ice-cream shop after ice-cream shop before stopping at a big hotel with shining lights.

Faye had been too out of it to tell her that they didn't have any money. But it seemed Jet did, or had, and so they'd put everything under his name.

She figured he probably already knew and that this wold be a speech about all the blah-blah money crap.

Faye sat up on the couch, where she'd just fallen, and replied, "Yeah, Jet. It's me."

"Where's Ed?" A light flickered on in the kitchen and he stuck his head out inquiringly.

"Bedroom. She's dead tired."

"It's six o'clock in the morning."

"...Yeah, well we were up til midnight playing cards," Faye responded with a yawn. Using 

William's deck, that Faye hadn't known Ed had snatched. She hadn't even known Ed had been in that room.

"So what did you find?"

What exactly should she tell him? That she'd found a ton of jewelry but lost it in an 

ice cream shop? That the only things she'd kept were an old birthday card and a wedding ring?

That she had this underlying suspicion about the whole thing that she didn't want to voice?

"I'm not sure yet. I need Ed to look some things up."

Silence and then. "Oh." 

She got to her feet, figuring now was a good time to beat a retreat to her room with a nice soft bed that she would sink into and try to forget...

"Faye?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"CATCH A DAMN BOUNTY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE KICKED OFF THE SHIP!" The sound of banging pots followed this announcement and Faye hoped he'd dropped them on his foot.

  


*

  


"Faye-Faye?"

A voice through the endless black and the sounds of a cheer. Someone was calling her?

"Wakey-Wakey?"

No. Not yet...Sleep...

"Is something wrong with her Ein-woof?"

"Woof-woof!"

"Ohhhhhhh!"

The sound of feet pattering against metal. Sleep again. No annoying voices.

"AHHHHHH!" Faye screamed as she was jolted awake by an onslaught of freezing water. "Why you little!"

"Eikkkkkkk! Run Einnnnn!"

After a five minute chase around the Bebop, which made Jet grumble and light a cigarette

before he disappeared into his bonsai room, Faye successfully caught Edward and tied her to a chair.

"Now, you're going to find everything you can about Kathrine and David Spiegel."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh."

Faye's eye twitched. "What is it?"

"But Ed already found everything that she could."

"Then why didn't you tell me that?!"

"Ed had to wakey-wakey Faye-Faye firsty!"

She could already feel a migraine coming on, "Alright, tell me what you know."

"Wellllllllllll," Ed said, and slithered out of the rops that bound her, grabbed her computer, pushed a couple of buttons, and shoved the thing in Faye's face.

"Kathrine and David Spiegel. Her last name was Turimso and she had inherited a great amount of money from her late father. She never knew her mother. Blah, blah, blah. David was a...Huh?"

"Ohhhh, that's hacker-lingo-code for assassin!"

"But she didn't, ah, know that, did she Ed?"

"Ahh, nope-nope."

"So she married an assassin without knowing, and they had a kid. But eight or so years later, Kathrine found out that her husband was a killer, blah, blah, blah. The kid was six when she took him to live with her alone in a white house that later became known as The Haunted House of White. Creative name..." Faye stared at the computer screen as if hypnotized by the floating words that stare back at her.

"And then," Ed added, "Mr. David-person was told to kill her."

"And did he?" Something in her heart wrenched as if she was afraid of the answer.

_///...Well I remember that summer_

_Like yesterday_

_And I remember his mother_

_As he was dragged away...///_

  


"No-no, read-read." Ed reprimanded Faye as if she were a teacher, and Faye a student just learning to read.

"David gave her a drug that would erase some of her memories, hoping she would forget

what he was," Raising an eyebrow, Faye sent a look at Ed and added in an undertone, "Stupid, men," before continuing. "He then tried to kill William, because the kid, although only seven or so, attacked him when he gave Kathrine the drug. Smart kid."

"His name was William Spiegel."

"But David Spiegel was just an alias, his real name was Bedlam Onslaught. And he tried to kill his own kid, but William survived the attack and was dragged away by child protection." Faye stopped reading and stared at the picture of Bedlam that Ed has just brought up with a click of a button. He did like an awful lot like...

"Story is not ended-ended!" Edward reminded her.

Faye sighed, and began reading out loud again, "Kathrine, having lost most of her sanity, thought William was dead, even after people telling her repeatedly he was not." Faye swallowed, her mouth feeling dry as she read the next sentence, "She flung herself off a cliff."

Ed nodded knowingly before throwing her hands up into the air, and reaching over Faye's head, hit another button that brought up a small report with David Spiegel's name written on the top.

Faye shot Edward an exasperated look before mumbling, "David died a couple weeks later, murdered in his sleep, but it doesn't say who did it..."

Edward just stared back at her, "Didn't say, but Faye-Faye, you know?"

An empty pit of blackness in her heart, the same feeling she'd felt while watching the beta video of herself, jumping up and down,"Will..."

  


_///...I still hear him screaming "where do I hide?"_

_And all he asks and I say "hurry inside"_

_A whole lot of memories...yours and not mine_

_And all he asks and I say "hurry inside"...///_

  


"Does it say what happened to William?" Faye inquired as Ed began to type at her computer with her toes.

"Umm...He ran away from Child Services, and that's all the computer has to say about that!"

"But...what about the name Spike Spiegel?"

"Faye-Faye?"

  


_///...Got a criminal record_

_I can't cross state lines_

_First on the bad list_

_And you're last on mine_

_Lookin' for a scapegoat_

_Long past due_

_Walking down the aisle_

_Staring straight at you...///_

_Memories. Well you hold them for him, fairy? The price is paid and the gift_

_can't be taken back. This is how it will always be. The dragon will soar and fire_

_will spread, tears falling steadily from eyes that will not cry. An endless source_

_of blood that shall be spilt, but never become dry._

_///...I still hear him screaming "where do I hide?"_

_And all he asks and I say "hurry inside"_

_A whole lot of memories...yours and not mine_

_And all he asks and I say "hurry inside, where do I hide?"...///_

  


_* A child stumbles forward, gun in his fist as he stares at the sidewalk beneath him. Every step he takes leaves a footprint of blood trailing behind him. A door cracks open ahead, a young man stepping out of a shop, dressed in black and frowning. He spots the child._

_ "Where do I hide?" _

_ He starts at the question, sees the pain in the child's face, and stares into the eyes of the blood covered angel. Mao sees potential. He sees the child he can never have._

_ "Hurry inside."_

_ He opens the door fully, allowing the child to stumble in, before firmly shutting it and the horrors of the world away.*_

  
  


_///...The truth, dragon, is wrapped in lies...///_

  


A/N~ I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing...I tried to make it as understandable as I could, but I don't know...Looks at page count. Hey! Guess what? This is my longest chapter yet...

  


Responses:

  


Dragon-Blade101: Heh. Just wait and see, ya?

  


Koyaha1: I hope you liked this chapter. It should fill in some of what you were wondering about. ^_^ Glad you liked the twist.

  


Faraday: Thank you! 

  


Kendra Luehr: Thank you! And yes, I'll read one of your fics, just as soon as I upload this chappie. ^_^

  


Hecate: Heh. Yeah, they would be really weird parents if they named their kid Spike. If I ever have a kid, I'm naming it Spike, just for the fun of it. 

  


Liz012014: Sorry it took so long...Hope you liked it...

  


Rei: Ahh, sorry this update took so long and I like your name! Rei is wicked.

  


Youkai-Onna: You're awesome, you know that? But I don't have any of those songs...But I promise to read and review your fics, alright? I hope you liked this chappie.

  
  


The Save Spike Society is now accepting payments in the form of reviews. Please click the little box and leave a note, the Society will then forward them to Dove, tie her to a chair, place a computer in front of her, and make her write chapter after chapter of Spikey goodness...Or at least what she hopes is Spikey goodness...


	8. Chapter Seven: Cats on Mars

A/N~ I had writers block there for awhile. I had no idea where to go with this story. But you know what? I'm fine now, all cured and everything.

  


Disclaimer: The song _How's it Going to be_ belongs to Third Eye Blind. I nadda own nothing, mon.

  


Chapter Seven: Cats on Mars

  


_///...3,2,1, Let's Jam...///_

  


He pulls the trigger and jumps to the side, moving with the grace of a feline as he dodges bullets gliding through the air inches above his head. He grins insanely and can't seem to stop.

Because inside somewhere, he realizes, that he doesn't really care.

That for some reason, he wants to die.

And for some reason, maybe the same reason, he can't.

_///...I'm only pretty sure that I can't take anymore  
Before you take a swing  
I wonder what are we fighting for  
When I say out loud  
I want to get out of this  
I wonder is there anything  
I'm going to miss...///_

The bullets fly from his gun, each meeting their target. He wonders what happened to his partner. It seems that she's fallen. It surprises him that he doesn't remember when.

He was usually one to know things like that.

Chaos shrugs, reaches into the pocket of his black duster with one hand, and reloads his gun. 

Across from him they stand there, eyeing him with dread, with fear.

He's already been shot twice, and he's still alive, still fighting.

And it scared the hell out of them.

_...You understand now, Dragon? Don't you?_

"Get out of my head," he mutters and flings himself back into the battle. Kicking his insanely flexible legs in the enemy Syndicate's faces, barring his teeth in a feral grin, while somewhere in his soul, something is counting down...

Counting down to what...?

He isn't one to care about emotions, so he pays the counting no heed. It doesn't matter.

Nothing matters.

He finds himself face to face with the last of the Syndicate members. The young man holds a gun out with both shaking hands, eyes wide and senseless.

Chaos raises both his guns, hands preparing to do what's always been second nature.

_Spike._

The voice stops him. One of his guns clatters to the floor, echoing dimly in the back of his mind like the beat of a drum...or church bells.

The young man with wide eyes, turns on his heel, and flees, living Chaos in the room of blood.

_Spike._

It isn't the same voice as the one always telling him he can't die...The one that calls him Dragon...This one is different...Almost loving...Almost...

_ Life is a dream._

No. Life is purgatory. Life is...life is...life is...

"Death." He mutters, and lets the other gun drop from his hand as he falls to his knees on the floor, "death."

_Come to me..._

He wonders what it means, and at the same time, wishes for this new voice to go away. It doesn't belong...doesn't...belong...

Memory flys backwards, to the girl in the red car staring at him as if he were a god, the same look on her face as the bullet pierces her heart.

And that's where it ends.

And now he was here, in this room of blood, with fallen Tigers bleeding in circles around him.

It doesn't belong...doesn't...belong...

_Come to me..._

Chaos gets to his feet slowly, reaches into his jacket pocket for something, and stops, realizing the hand is doing that by itself and that he doesn't know what he's looking for. He bends and grabs both guns off the floor smoothly.

"You know," he mutters, "I think it's time to blow this place."

Time skips forward to the point where the grenade leaves his hand and the Tiger headquarters explodes outwards, shards of metal and glass flying through the air that moments before, was as silent as the grave.

_///...I wonder how it's going to be  
When you don't know me  
How's it going to be  
When you're sure I'm not there  
How's it going to be  
When there's no one there to talk to  
Between you and me  
Cause I don't care.../_//

*

She couldn't sleep. Night after night of dreams that sent her shivering into the 'living room' of the Bebop; sent her to the coach where she'd curl up and try to think of other things.

But not of him.

Because she realized now, that she was dreaming of a life she'd never lived.

His life.

And she didn't want to see it, didn't want to feel it every time she closed her eyes.

Because he was gone.

And yet, now, she was so close to him. Closer than anyone else had ever been.

Except maybe Vicious.

She knew now that they were like brothers.

_"You ready?"_

_ "Yeah. I got your back."_

_ "Ever kill anyone before?"_

_ "...Yeah..."_

_"Where'd you come from, anyway, Vish?"_

_ "Orphanage somewhere. It's not important."_

_ "Why'd you name yourself Spike?"_

_ "'Cause I felt like it. Why'd you name yourself Vicious?"_

_ "'Cause I felt like it."_

At first, she didn't think they were real, these dreams. And looking back, she realized that they'd started the night he left, she just hadn't always remembered them.

But now they were floating back to her across the foggy depths of sleep, forgotten dreams that would come upon her so suddenly...

"Come back to me..." Faye mumbles against the cushion of the couch as if she were trying to smother herself into oblivion.

And then the dust filled house came back to her and the wedding ring...The childhood he'd lost.

_///...How's it going to be  
How's it going to be  
Where we used to laugh  
There's a shouting match  
Sharp as a thumbnail scratch  
A silence I can't ignore  
Like the hammock by the  
Doorway we spent time in swings empty  
Don't see lightning like last fall...///_

*

_Come back to me._

His slightly different eyes opened slowly. Pain flared in his arm but he ignored it. Didn't matter anyway, did it?

Sitting up slowly, he realized he must have fallen out the window when he blew the building up. What a rush.

He fluffs his hair with one hand, and then pops his shoulders and neck. What now? What was left?

He sees a shiny car out of the corner of his eye, and thinks, I'd really like to drive that.

*

"Reyn?" A hesitant voice says from behind the door.

"Come in," Reyn replies, exasperated and feeling the beginings of a headache. He rubs his temples with the tips of his fingers, dropping the papers he'd been staring holes into.

"Sir..." Says one of the many secretaries that always seem to be drinking coffee instead of bringing it to him.

"Spit it out," he hisses, the headache flaring to life.

"...Lord Chaos hasn't returned yet..."

_Well, gee, kiss my ass and go to heaven._

"Dammit," he screams, and tosses all the papers on his desk at the secretary, who screams a very girly scream and runs out the door, throwing her arms above her head.

*

"I'm worried about her, Faye I mean," Jet mumbles to Ed, who is humming slightly as she types at her computer.

"She never seems to sleep anymore. Always awake before me, always going to bed after we've all gone to our rooms. She seems..."

"Lost, turtle moss, flying in the sea!" Declares Ed as if it were the answer to everything.

"Yeah. All the secrets of the universe are in that head of yours." Jet says in reply and ruffles her already messy hair with his one real hand. 

_///...When it was always about to hit me  
I wonder how's it going to be  
When it goes down  
How's it going to be  
When you're not around  
How's it going to be  
When you found out there was nothing  
Between you and me  
Cause I don't care...///  
_

*

"Hey, mister! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Chaos grins back at the short bald man frantically waving his arms in circles as he jumps up and down, and up and down..."Sayonara!" He yells over the purr of the engine, and pushes down the gas pedal. 

The bright red-pink roofless car zooms off the side of the street, almost ramming into multiple vehicles as it heads in the wrong direction. Chaos lazily lifts his foot of the gas, letting the car glide as he uses his foot to kick the radio a few times.

Frowning, because the damn thing hadn't turned on, he returns his foot to the gas and uses his hand to smash the radio furiously, not caring that he was damaging it beyond repair.

"Didn't wanna listen to music anyway," he drawls and returns his attention to the road, still heading in the wrong direction.

Cars swerve off the road, drivers jumping out and slamming doors, yelling profanities after him as he cruises along at 80 miles an hour.

"Fun for all the masses," he mutters chuckling.

_///...How's it going to be  
And how's it going to be  
When you don't know me anymore  
And how's it going to be  
Want to get myself back in again  
The soft dive of oblivion  
I want to taste the salt of your skin...///  
_

*

"Here's some money, alright Faye?" Jet had said, looking directly into his eyes. "I want you to get some bread, milk, and any kind of meat you want. If there's any money left, you can get yourself something, alright?"

Faye stepped out of the Redtail, fishing in her pocket for the woulongs Jet had handed her. "Gee, thanks," she tells the sky, "like I can do much with this!"

She spots a jewelry store across the street and thinks, you know, I haven't had anything shiny in awhile. Her foot lifts off the pavement, and she almost, almost steps out onto the road.

_No. You musn't, Fairy._

She stumbles backwards, just in time to avoid being hit by a zooming red-pink vehicle that seems to be defying all the laws of speed.

Staring open mouthed after it for a moment, she clamps her jaw shut before starting to shout at the top of her lungs about the stupidity of some people.

"Damn lunkhead!"

_It's a game, Fairy. Are you going to play?_

The woulongs fall out of her fingers, she spins on her heel and runs back to her ship, jumping into the sit, and turning the Red Tail on in record time. "I'm not letting you get away this time, even if I have to shoot you."

_///...The soft dive of oblivion  
How's it going to be  
When you don't know me anymore  
How's it going to be  
How's it going to be  
How's it going to be...///  
_

She doesn't question why she thinks that driver was him, because deep down, she wants to believe he's still alive...

...Still causing destruction and pain.

_///...Racing down the roadway...///_

A/N ~ Hmmm...This is not where I expected this chapter to go...Ah well... 

Responses:

Youkai-Onna: Thanks for the song suggestions! Very awesome of ya. I think this song worked very well with this chapter, I think. You got a CB poster? Awwww I'm jealous! I have the two Shooting Star mangas and I'm working on getting the other series...but I don't got lotsa money, ya? Sick you say? Well I hope you get better soon, or are better now. Heh. Anyway, thanks for the song help and such! Hope you liked this chapter!

HappyDudeBeyond: ^_^ Thank you!!! I like your name, btw.

Koyasha1: Well here's another chappie. Not as good as the last one, at least I think so, but hopefully you got something good out of it.

Shinyfairylights: Hmmmm...You should talk to my muse, 'cause it really isn't up to me when Spike and Faye finally meet, it's up to him..or her...I have multiple muses...^_^

Cowgirl13: *raises glass of water too* Yay! Cheers to Spike! Bwaha!

Hecate: Funny, funny stuff. Maybe you'll just happen to find a guy whose name is Spike, and then you won't have to nickname him that! Or maybe you can just slyly get everyone to start calling him Spike and then there you go! ^_^

Kendra Luehr: You're very much welcome, and thank you!

Review please! If you do, Spike will give you a hug!!!


	9. Chapter Eight: Falling Dragon

A/N I really loathe school. They're trying to turn us all into zombies, I swear, with their robot teachers and crazy Hitler coaches...Plus Algebra 2 does NOT make sense, I don't care how much Donald* or Donkey Kong* tell me that it does, 'cause it doesn't!

*These are code names. Ha.

  


Disclaimer: Cowboy Bebop is too awesome to be owned by me. I have no musical talent whatsoever, so obviously the song _Staring at the Sun _belongs to The Offspring and not to me. I own nothing...Except for that pen you're trying to steal. *Insert death glare*

  


~Dove~

  


Chapter Eight: Falling Dragon

  


Why did he have to drive so damn fast? 

Faye was flying directly above him as he drove the wrong way on the free way. Was he trying to kill himself? She could see a puff of green hair poking out of the pink car, the image making her heart pump faster, and her palms grow sweaty as she gripped the steering wheel.

It is the Lunkhead...

_...But what if it isn't? What then, Faye? Are you ready for that let down?_

_///...Maybe life is like a ride on a freeway_

_ Dodging bullets while you're trying to find your way_

_ Everyone's around, but no one does a damn thing_

_ It brings me down, But I won't let them...///_

  


People drove off the road as he came zooming past, dodging vehicles as their drivers opened windows and cursed at his stupidity. It was just like the Lunkhead to do something like this.

And yet it wasn't.

Who was he now? And where had he been?

No, Faye, she told herself, don't think just be. Be the wind...just be...

Great, the Lunkhead had made her go insane.

  


*

  


"What the hell am I doing?" He asked the broken radio, but it didn't answer. 

The truth was, he didn't expect it to. But it would be nice, you know, if it would answer. Then he'd have someone, er, something, to talk to before the end.

The end of what?

Shaking his head slightly, he abruptly turned the wheel, spinning the car in a semi-circle, and began heading in the opposite direction.

The right direction.

"Great. Spiffy. Now what?"

But, no. The hellish radio was still silent.

Sighing dramatically, Chaos reached behind him and pulled a handgun out of the pocket of his jacket he'd thrown in the back sit. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he raised the gun above him and shot at the sky.

Grinning evilly as he heard the telltale sound of bullet on metal, he glanced up to see the ugly spacecraft totter to the right, a bullet hole in the side of its hull.

Humming to himself, he glared at the radio again. Chaos even took the time to smash his fist against it a few more times. Still, nothing.

  


_///...If I seem bleak_

_ Well you'd be correct_

_ And if I don't speak_

_ It's cause I can't disconnect_

_ But I won't be burned by the reflection_

_ Of the fire in your eyes_

_ As you're staring at the sun...///_

  


What to do?

  


_You're falling, Dragon. It isn't supposed to be like this. Go home._

  


"Home?" He hissed, "Where is home? What is home? Why can't I remember a life before this?" 

He let go of the wheel, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back.

"Bang," he whispered and closed his eyes. The word seemed familiar on his lips.

  


*

  


When she saw him raise the gun out of the corner of her eye, she hadn't expected him to shot. But then, she hadn't expected him to suddenly turn the vehicle around, or let go of the steering wheel...

His shot had been good, but not good enough to stop her, and she was still following him closely enough to know his hands weren't on the wheel and that his eyes were closed.

"The hell are you doing?!"

This was a little far, even for Spike.

  


_///...When I ran I didn't feel like a runaway...///_

  


A moment of clarity. His eyes opened and looked directly up at her. She didn't know how it was possible, but the connection was real...

...For a moment...

And then his car went over the side of the high way and his miss-matched eyes were gone.

  


_///...When I escaped I didn't feel like I got away...///_

  


*

  


_Chaos. Spike. Lord. Syndicate. Blond. Blood. Vicious. Pink. Crimson. Black. Everything. Life. Death. Soul. Savior. Devil. Angel. Chaos. Chaos. Chaos. Chaos. Chaos._

Eyes, looking into his, wide and fearful. He felt a smirk on his lips and then more flashes in his mind.

Her eyes were causing this.

_Blood. Knife. Sword. Dagger. Gun. Rose. Petals. Puddles. Blood. Crimson. Black. Blond._

The eyes had to stop. The flashes had to stop.

A moment of clarity.

He reached forward, grabbed the wheel, and jerked it to the right.

"Spiffy," he mumbled, realizing that the bullet holes were finally getting to him, realizing he was bleeding all over the seat...

Realizing he wasn't going to die, no matter what he tried...

  


_///...There's more to living than only surviving_

_ Maybe I'm not there, but I'm still trying..._///

  


*

  


Shock, and then she steered the Redtail downward, following his trail down into the ditch. She landed her ship a few feet away, feeling nauseated as she glanced at the dented pink vehicle.

What had made him do that?

As soon as her feet touched the earth she was running, with no care for the weeds that grabbed at her legs. No, she only cared for the wreck before her.

Gasping, she reached it and instantly surveyed the crash with eyes full of despair.

The vehicle was upside down, how he had accomplished that, she wasn't sure. 

Mumbling under her breath she fell to her knees and began trying to pull the door open, not knowing what else to do.

_///...Though you hear me_

_ I don't think that you relate_

_ My will is something that you can't confiscate...///_

"Spike," she mumbled, and then began to chant his name, her voice going steadily loader as she continued to pull at the door.

Growing frustrated she pulled out her gun and hoping the fool wasn't too close to the door, shot the handle. The door was much easier to open after that.

But the sight that greeted her wasn't exactly welcome.

He had somehow manuvered himself so that he was laying on his back on the ground, staring up at a once leather seat that was dripping blood onto his face.

His black clothes looked oily, and Faye realized, it was because of all the blood seeping through three bullet wounds in his side.

His long arms were crossed behind his head, and she could almost swear he was humming.

Suddenly unsure of herself, and feeling as though she had just walked into his room, not into the wreckage of a once expensive car, which probably wasn't even his...

"Hello?" She muttered hesitantly.

He glanced up at her, "Why 'ello!" He replied nonchalantly. "Aren't you cute? I'd offer you something to drink, but I seem to have run out."

She blinked at him, wondering if he had gone insane, before realizing her mouth was open, and snapped it shut. Wait! Did he just call her cute?

His eyes had closed and his breathing had slowed. Afraid he was about to leave her for good, Faye crawled forward slightly and called out, "Spike!"

He didn't respond for a moment, but then his eyes opened sleepily and he regarded her. "What? You're still here? I told you I didn't have anything to drink."

She shook her head. "No, we have to get you out of here, you're..." She trailed off and waved her hand at his badly wounded body.

"Oh this?" He asked, "This is nothing. Don't worry you're little face over it. I think I'll just go to sleep now. Nothing to worry about."

His nonchalant way of dismissing his wounds left her blinking, again. But she wasn't going to let him get away, oh no, not this time.

"Spike!"

"Spike?"

"Spike!"

He blinked at her and tilted his head to the right slightly, "Are you speaking a different language, 'cause I'm not getting what you're trying to say. No spikes around, just silly old me drifting off, so be quiet now so I can sleep."

_What? In. The. Hell? _

"Spike. Don't be like this, I-" She was growing angry.

His eyes flashed open again, and this time, it wasn't the insane person she'd been talking to before. No, these eyes belonged to a killer.

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" His eyebrow twitched. Suddenly he rolled over and reached upwards, grabbing a jacket from the car that leaned over them.

"Guess I'll find somewhere else to sleep."

And with that he was gone.

She could feel a headache coming on.

"Spike!" She shouted in annoyance and confusion and climbed out of the wreckage, glancing around until she found the blood covered man standing a few feet away from the Redtail, one hand on his hip, the other holding the jacket over his back.

She ran over to him, and stopped, gasping beside him.

"Who are you, anyway?" He asked, suddenly friendly again.

"...Faye..."

He considered her for a moment and then shook his head, "Nope, haven't heard of ya."

He then proceeded to start to walk away. Shouldn't he be limping or something? He was bleeding all over the place for the love of God!

"Wait!" She called out.

He stopped.

She had to force the words out, even though it hurt to do so, "Who are you?"

He smirked, one hand reaching behind him, while he responded with, "Chaos."

She knew what she was seeing, but didn't want to accept it. Didn't want to think he would do this to her.

She stared down the barrel of his gun.

"You're cute and all, but I'm not sure which Syndicate you're working for, and frankly, well, it might just be better to dispose of you."

She reached behind her as she took a few steps back, and grabbed her gun out of her back pocket where she'd shoved it in the not so distant past. 

She held it out before her. "This time, Spike, I'm not going to miss."

He raised an eyebrow, still holding out his own gun, "Darling, I don't think you get it. Chaos can never die."

The words struck something in her heart as above them the sun shone like a beacon, making the blood covering Chaos like a shroud, glisten in remorse.

  


_///...So forgive me, but I won't be frustrated_

_ By destruction in your eyes_

_ As you're staring at the sun...///_

  
  
  


_ ///...As your staring at the sun...///_

  
  


A/N ...Where did that come from? I seriously don't know. *Looks around at muses* I blame William the Bloody, he seems to have made Spike take on some of his aspects. That's why Spike might be a little more OOC in this chapter than usual. *nods* So if you have a problem, it's his fault. *Glares at William the Bloody* I'd call him by his other name, but that would just confuse people. *nods again* I think I've gone delusional. *Head falls off from all the nodding and rolls away*

  


Response Time:

  


Koyasha1: Well, I guess I was just being silly, so thanks. I feel much better about that chapter now since it seems that people liked it. Thank you so much for your support and I suppose you can stop twiddling your thumbs now. ^_^

  


Sanima: Wow, you have me on author alert? *Does a little jig* You're really awesome and I'm really glad you like my fic so much, although I would like to add that Spike is mine! All mineeee, my preciousssss...Heh...*Starts walking in circles*

  


Cowgirl13: Do you take French? I take French. Second year of it in fact, but I have no idea what's going on. O_o

  


Hecate: And didja notice in that one episode Spike had a nice big fluffy pink jacket? The one episode with the snow and that Gren guy...Can't remember what it was called....

  


Bec126: Why, thank you! ^ _^

  


Youkai-Onna: Woah, that has gotta be the longest review I've ever gotten. Seems like you had a lot of trouble on your hands. I hope it was fun though and it's okay that you couldn't think of any music, your life seems hectic as it is. So thank you so much! Oh, and one more thing, you aren't a sucky writer, not at all. I enjoyed your fics very much. ^_^

  
  


Happy Late Halloween! (See, doesn't that make you want to review?)

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	10. Chapter Nine: Spinning Away

A/N ~ Been awhile, huh? I apologize. Just don't kill me. I'm going to die during basketball practice anyway, so why waste time and effort?

  


Disclaimer: The song Breathing is owned by Life House. The anime Cowboy Bebop is owned by...Sunrise? Watanabe? Someone? Not I. Nope.

  


~Dove~

  


Chapter Nine: Spinning Away

  


_///...3, 2, 1, Let's Jam!...///_

  


Faye was surprised to find that her hands weren't shaking. That her grip on the gun was steady, almost cold. Somewhere inside herself she had realized that this needed to be done, and that she would, and could, do it.

It still slightly unnerved her how sure she was of herself, even as a voice hissed in the back of her mind that this could be a phantom, an illusion.

That maybe she had gone insane.

Spike, or Chaos, smirked and opened his mouth to say something, eyes glinting in the sunlight.

Now or never, Faye, she told herself and pulled the trigger. He wasn't getting away this time.

Never again.

She could tell by the look on his face that he hadn't expected her to do it. She could also tell that he wasn't all there as he stared at her through emotionless eyes as he fell to his knees.

The gun slipped from his hand, weeds making a bed for it against the earth.

Oh God, Spike, what happened to you?

She let her own gun fall from her hands as she threw herself to the ground beside him.

His eyes were cold as he regarded her, gasping slightly as his body shuddered from the shock of yet another bullet.

She reached out a hand tentatively and touched his pale face, feeling the ice in his skin as she searched for warmth. "Spike?"

His miss-matched eyes grew wide. "Faye?" He demanded sounding surprised and lost as he fell forward into her arms.

_///...I'm finding my way back to sanity again_

_ Though I don't really know what_

_ I am gonna do when I get there_

_ Take a breath and hold on tight_

_ Spin around one more time_

_ And gracefully fall back in the arms of grace...///_

  


*

  


Jet stood gaping at her as if she'd turned into a pineapple, and by all rights, she might as well have.

Faye had one of Spike's arms draped across her shoulders, while the other held the wall in a futile attempt to steady herself.

Spike was still bleeding, half-asleep, and muttering under his breath as he drunkenly staggered forward with her help.

And Jet was still standing there growing paler by the moment.

"For the love of something, Jet! Could you get the med-kit or get him off me!"

He chose to find the med-kit.

Faye helped the wounded man to the coach, where he instantly collapsed and closed his eyes.

"Oh, no, you don't," Faye told him, "we talked about this on the ride here. No going to sleep or you might not wake up again."

His eyes fluttered open and stared into her own, "Where's Reyn?"

Reyn?

"Ahh..." Faye's eyes darted around for a moment before returning to the empty ones that made her heart break, "Not here right now."

"Okay. What about that new guy, Steven?" He drawled lazily, and there was a flash of something in his eyes.

But he was so different that she wasn't sure what it was. Of course, even when he was himself, she hadn't been sure what he was thinking one hundred percent of the time. But this was just so...different...

"Nope." What else was there to say?

"Sir." His voice was sharp, making her stand up straighter as she stared down at him. 

"What?" She demanded. Had he gotten even more delusional from the ride to the Bebop?

"Address me as either sir or lord, Faye."

If he hadn't been so badly wounded she would have slapped him. Of course, that had never stopped her before. But this was just so different.

"Spike," she tried, "I don't know why you're..."

"Chaos. Lord Chaos. Or Chaos, sir. Or even just, sir, would do nicely."

By that time Jet had returned from wherever the hell he had gone, but his mouth was still gaping open in a wide O of amazement.

Were all men such lunkheads?

Telling herself it was a stupid question, Faye grabbed the kit out of Jet's useless hands, sent him a glare from hell, and then situated herself on the table by the couch.

Where to start?

  


*

  


"Jettttttttttttt?"

"Yeah, Ed?"

"Was that Spike-person?"

"...Yeah, I think it was."

"Is Jet-person surey, sure, sure?"

"Yeah, Ed, Jet-person is pretty sure, sure. Wait. Ugh...."

"Hehehehe. Come on Ein. Ed wants to see Spike-person!"

"...No, Ed, I don't think that's really smart."

"Wahhhhhhhhhhh! Let go of Ed! Ein! Help Ed! Ahhhhhhh!"

  


*

  


"Spike?"

It had been twelve hours since she brought him home. The whole time he'd been on the couch, sleeping. But just now, she'd seen his eyes flutter open, watched as he began to observe the spinning fan.

She had been sure Ed would come in here, jumping about like the big ball of freakish energy she was. But Jet had locked her up somewhere before disappearing himself, although not before shaking his head slightly at the pitiful sight of Spike.

And he did look sort of pitiful.

She'd gotten him out of the blood covered black outfit he'd been wearing, with the help of Jet, which by the way, was the only thing he'd helped her with.

He now wore a set of his old clothes but he looked somewhat strange in them.

And it hurt her heart.

"Spike?"

"Where am I?" His jaw was clenched. He sounded angry.

  


_ ///...I'm hanging on every word you say_

_ And even if you don't want to speak tonight_

_ That's alright, alright with me_

_ 'Cause I want nothing more than to sit_

_ Outside heaven's door and listen to you breathing_

_ Is where I want to be...///_

  


"...The Bebop..."

Stony silence.

"What Syndicate do you work for?"

"..."

She wasn't going to cry over him. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to cry. No. No, crying. No. She wasn't...

  


*

  


"Jet! Jet!"

His head appeared out of his bonsai tree door. "What?"

"I don't know what to do," she told him, feeling pathetic as she stood there with slightly red eyes as she stared at his white face. How long had he looked like that?

"...Is it...?" He seemed afraid. His eyes were darting away from hers, as if he didn't want to face what he saw in them.

"He doesn't...remember..."

"What!?" 

And then it hit her. Jet hadn't been expecting anything of that sort. He'd been expecting abandonment, or just Spike acting like the lunkhead he was and disappearing to never return.

He'd expected Spike to stay dead.

And she realized, that even in her darkness moments, she'd never truly accepted that.

*

  


The fan was going in circles. It had been doing that for the last thirty minutes, might as well have been doing it for thirty days, because that's what it felt like.

Chaos tried to shift his position, but his side hurt to much. Had he been blind to the pain the whole time? Was it now just setting in?

  


_Go home, Dragon. Home._

  


Where was home? The cutie with the purple hair told him that this was home. This Bebop place.

But it was...

Different.

There was a strange bald guy that looked like he was fifty years old, and some kid with orange hair he'd only seen for a brief second.

Where was...

...what...?

What the hell was he searching for?

  


_///...I am looking past the shadows_

_ Of my mind into the truth and_

_ I'm trying to identify the voices in my head_

_ God, which one's you_

_ Let me feel one more time_

_ What it feels like to feel_

_ And break these calluses off me _

_ One more time...///_

  


Chaos decided he was going to kill the fan...

...As soon as he could move...

And then he was going to steal a ship and get the hell out of here, because this place made his head hurt.

And he didn't like that.

No. Chaos with a headache was not a good sign.

Hangover and eggs.

Now, where had that come from?

And the frigging fan was still spinning.

"Ughhhhh..." He muttered, wishing he had a gun. Death to the fan. Die...

_Where are you going? Why are you going? You told me once... that the past didn't matter... You're the one who's tied to their past!_

  
  


Which voice was that? The one from the shadows, or the purple or blond? Or the white?

Or the back?

Where did it all fit in?

_Angels that are forced from heaven have to become demons. Isn't that right, Spike? _

What did it feel like to die, he wondered. And why was this couch so damned comfy? He needed to get one for the office.

What kind of creature was that orange haired thing? Did a dog just bark? He hated dogs with a vengeance. Cats were much better. They were annoying but tolerable.

He had the distinct impression he'd had one as a child.

Child?

_Hey, Jet, did you know that there are three things that I hate? Rugrats... beasts... and tomboys. _

Had he said that?

  


"Yo," said a voice. And suddenly that bald fifty year old man was leaning over him. _Could you get any closer?_

"How you doing?" The man asked.

_Like I would tell you._ "Fantastic," he answered dully, eyes trained on the fan. 

_Watch the amazing spinning fan! Only one in a billion have this extraordinary ability to annoy the hell out of people!_

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

_No. I really don't._ "Ahhh...Mr. Disney?" Maybe he could guess right. Maybe the guy would think it was his name.

The old man sighed. "Jet. Jet Black."

Chaos chuckled slightly.

"What?" Black sounded exasperated.

"Your name. Jet Black. Ha."

Silence. Yay, watch the fan spin. Spiny, spin, spin!

The old guy pulled out a box and stuffed it in his face.

Chaos raised an eyebrow.

"What you don't smoke anymore?"

Chaos shook his head puzzled.

It was then that he saw her. The purple one, standing in the shadows watching him, eyes full of some emotion he didn't know.

Suddenly the fan wasn't so important anymore.

_///...I don't want a thing from you_

_ Bet you're tired of me waiting_

_ For the straps to fall_

_ Off your table and to the ground_

_ I just want to be here now...///_

_So you are finally awake. I told you before, Spike... that I am the only one who can kill you. _

  


Chaos's eyes went wide. His eyebrow twitched as his gaze returned to the fan. Underneath the blankets covering his slim form, his fists clenched. 

He needed to get out of here...

...Now...

  
  


_ ///...I think it's time to blow this place...///_

  


A/N~ Woah! Look at all my reviews! I never thought I'd ever get this many! *Does a little cheerful dance* Thank you! You all deserve candy and Spike plushies. I wish I had one...Oh and hopefully you recognized some quotes I put in from the series. I don't own 'em.

  


Responses:

  


Koyasha1: Rapid dust bunnies? Sounds kinda scary...Wanna borrow my flamethrower? Burning stuff is fun when you're waiting. ^_^

  


red-tenko: *Blushes* Thank you! That made me feel extremely special.

  


Hecate: I wonder how the teachers would react if I gave them homework? A nice big pile of evil nasty homework. Hope you liked this chapter!

  


Cowgirl13: Je parle francais tres mal. Heh. ^_^ Hope you liked the chapter!

  


Sanima: Thank you! I don't really have that much time right now, but I promise to read and review your story! Hope you liked this chapter! *Cough* Spike is mine! *Cough*

  


Kendra Luehr: Sorry! Didn't know it was that bad of a cliffie. Hadn't even thought about it really. Sorry that this wasn't up as soon as you wanted but I hope you still like it!

  


Ophelia-Cat: Glad you still like it!

  


Youkai-Onna: Sorry I didn't use one of your songs for this chappie but I sorta already had it written. Don't be sad though, 'cause I'm going to use one of them for the next chapter. Promise! *Opens Root Beer* Congrats about the piano! Favorite Authors and Alert?! *Passes out in amazement* 

  


Aine-samma: Oy. Haven't gotten this question yet. How to explain? Hmm...Alright, Spike is called Dragon by the voice because of the whole Red Dragon thing. It's like symbolize. For Faye, it's the same thing. Remember that episode where she sneezed three times and Gren was like, "Take care." Her response to his, "If someone doesn't say that and they sneeze three times they turn into a fairy," line was "But I'm already a fairy." This making any sense? Plus her name is sort of along the lines of fairy. Take off the 'e' and you get 'fay' which means 'fairy'. ^_^ Hope you get my rambling.

  
  
  



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